Tell me where one might wear these...

Please... I cannot come up with a situation in which I'd think, "Yes, I must wear those socks tonight." And yet, American Apparel is selling them (along with scrunchies... is it 1987 again?)

July 4th is coming!

It is my favorite holiday by leaps and bounds. Really, what is left out of a July 4th weekend?: warm summer days, sparklers, fireworks, hot dogs, water games, watermelon, friends and family, no pressure to buy gifts and wrap them... It is a holiday that for me can just be summed up with smiles and laughter.

One more month... I can't wait!
Just have to figure out where I'll be for the festivus that is July 4th.

Wanted: certainty

The last few years, I've felt happy and comfortable about where I am in life. I like my job. I like my personal life. I have a good relationship with my family and close friends that are dear to me. Its not often I feel lost or unsure of what I want - in fact, I feel quite sure of what I do want and what I do not want. Don't misunderstand - I don't have everything I want (who does?), but being able to specifically identify my goals for the next 5 years both personally and professionally allows me a certainty I wouldn't likely have otherwise.

Recently though, I do feel lost.
Not without hope, just without certainty.
At one of those interminable junctures that is a decision point without being one; where by not making a decision you effectively have made a decision. Why can't life be more like poker games - when its time to make a decision, you have a few options and play doesn't move on until you decide the way you want to go?

5 Things...

I am grateful for:
- Good neighbors... the kind that are welcoming, friendly, and warm.
- My life... I have a good one. Remember that.
- My health... I could be less fortunate.
- I feel... I could be ignorant of love and life and emotion.
- Rest... I could be unable to sleep. I have been there before. Sleep helps manage the rest.

Today this was hard. I need to remember these things right now.

Gravity

Gravity, Sara Bareilles

Something always brings me back to you
It never takes too long
No matter what I say or do
I still feel you here, ‘til the moment I’m gone
…
You hold me without touch
You keep me without chains
I never wanted anything so much
Than to drown in your love and not feel your rain
…
Set me free, leave me be
I don’t wanna fall another moment into your gravity
Here I am and I stand so tall
I’m just the way I’m supposed to be
But you’re on to me and all over me
…
But you’re neither friend nor foe
Though I can’t seem to let you go
The one thing that I still know
Is that you’re keeping me down, you’re keeping me down

A Happy Weekend

The perfect day:

Wake up early-ish, read a book in the warm sun with an egg sandwich for breakfast

Ice tea and Mexican for lunch with sopapillas as dessert with wonderful friends

Nap time after lunch

More time in the sun reading

Late-ish light dinner with friends

Drinks after dinner and off to bed by 1am and getting a good night's sleep.

 

So far, this has been my perfect day and I'm already up to the after-lunch nap.  The rest of my day is looking perfect as well.  How wonderful to have these days every once in a while!  It makes me happy.  Happy makes me love my life.  Loving my life makes me grateful for the people in it, to the extent that I think they believe I'm a little off my rocker.  Its okay though.  Hearing that you're important to someone is never a bad thing, whether or not they think I'm nuts. 

I am totally enjoying this weekend.  

Being here is exactly what I needed right now.  Calm.  Quiet (the lack of city noise is nearly disturbing).  Relaxing.  Sunny.  Warm, but not hot.  And for the first weekend in a really long while, I truly feel like I don't have to think about or do anything I don't want to.  

Hopefully being out here for the weekend keeps this smile plastered on my face in place for a while.  

New Nieces

How come they are just so much fun to hold!?

Weekend with the family and new baby!

My little sister had a baby girl on Thursday, just in time for mother's day! Riley Noelle is her name... perfectly healthy and adorably cute! Pictures will be coming...

I went down this past weekend to meet Riley and see my family. Its always such a breath of fresh air to see them. I had a glorious weekend - tromping through the woods around my parents house, playing yoga games with my older niece, cuddling the younger one, cooking for Momma and Poppa, and generally just relaxing. I'm so lucky to have not only great parents, but ones that I am friends with too.

Catch & Release

What a difficult movie to watch.... it legitimately is my nightmare.

May is the best month ever

True story.
A few examples for you:

1. Boston has beaten the Yanks every game so far.
2. My 2nd niece is due to be born this weekend. This means I have a new (and valid) reason to shop!
3. I get to go to Albuquerque for a weekend. This means I get some much-desired sopapillas, spicy food, green chile chicken soup, and other tasty, true-mexican food. It also means I get to meet my college roommate's daughter, see my college roommate, along with a number of other wonderful friends too.
4. Memorial Day weekend = 3 day weekend! How could one argue with that kind of goodness?!
5. I get to cook in my Momma's kitchen. As mine rivals the size of a shoebox, its always wonderful to cook where there's room. AND where the groceries are purchased by someone else. Heehee!
6. No more crutches! I spent all of April on crutches and being free of them is lovely!

Fortunate accidents

I love the word "serendipity" and its meaning, a fortunate accident. It defines how I experience life. Not that you aren't in control of and responsible for the decisions you make, but in my case, things tend to work out best when I accept the serendipitous events and go along with them. Maybe you can argue that this is being easy-going, and that in and of itself creates a less stressful environment. I can't believe that though... I really think things happen for a reason.
For instance, that 90 degree weekend 2 weeks ago.... definitely nature's way of avoiding a cold-weather melt down by me (and probably 90% of all New Yorkers), even if we had to go back to Spring for a while after the two 90 degree days. It was fortunate for all those around me that we had some warm weather to keep me sane for a bit longer until summer comes. :)